


Can I pet your dog?

by Sexy_Avengers17



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Clint just wants to pet a dog, Deaf Clint Barton, F/M, M/M, Minor Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, clint loves dogs, one armed bucky, winterhawk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 22:24:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13645659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sexy_Avengers17/pseuds/Sexy_Avengers17
Summary: Bucky Barnes returned from the war, missing one arm and with severe trust issues to live with his asshole of a best friend Steve Rogers. One day at the park and a hot-looking stranger that loves dog is all it takes for Bucky's world to turn over again.





	Can I pet your dog?

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my second fanfic in here. I hope you guys like it since this was one of my favorites to write!

**Bucky**

“You sure I’ll be okay?” Bucky asked. He was about to go out to the park without Steve, and he wasn’t exactly sure about it. Bucky was way better than when he first came back from the army months ago.

He was not as jumpy anymore, and going out to the public didn’t scare him like before. Except those times he had been with Steve, and right now he wanted Bucky to go alone. 

“One hundred percent of it,” Steve said reassuringly. Bucky stared at him and then at the door, still unsure of it. 

“What if someone talks to me?” Bucky asked. That would be bad. Like, really bad. He still had trouble trusting people, and if anyone talked to him he would just... mute out as always. It had been bad enough when he had trouble talking even with Steve.

Bucky could feel the panic rise in his chest, closing around him. Steve brought Han over, and Bucky made himself pass his right hand over the dog’s brown fur while Han licked him slightly.

The panic receded almost immediately. 

“You okay there, Buck?” Steve asked. Bucky took a deep breath and nodded. He patted his dog’s head. “Still going to the park?” For a moment, Steve looked at him worriedly.

Bucky nodded again. “I’m going,” he said. 

“You’re taking Han?” Steve asked. Bucky turned to look down at his Labrador. The helping dog had helped him a lot since he got him, and right now he could use a bit more of his help. 

“Yeah.”

Steve helped him get Han ready, as it could be tricky with just one arm. 

“If anyone talks to you, just ignore them if you feel like it,” Steve said. “Han has his ‘helping dog’ tag so it’ll be fine.”

Bucky glanced one last time at Steve and left their house. 

 

*****

 

It was a seven-minute walk from the house to the park. Bucky had made it halfway there when he had a thought.

What the hell was he supposed to do once he was at the park? He stopped walking, and so did Han. Maybe he should return and come with Steve?

Han seemed to sense what Bucky was thinking and pulled slightly in the direction of the park. Bucky talked himself into walking. 

 _I can do this_ , he thought. _Bucky Barnes can do this_.

Once they got to the park Bucky found it hadn’t been that difficult. Now he could take a seat at a bench hidden from the park path and the people and let Han wander around not that far away. 

“Go get some girls, Han,” he murmured, patting the dog’s head after releasing his leash. Han, being the good dog he was, didn’t wander more than five meters away from Bucky.

 _Should’ve brought a ball to throw at him_ , Bucky thought.

He searched around for a stick when Bucky noticed it. A man was staring at him. He was wearing worn out jeans, a dark purple shirt and had a forgotten ice cream cone on his hand.

And he was obviously staring at Bucky.

Bucky felt his defenses kick in, and he flicked his fingers to call Han back to him. The dog immediately came and jumped up into the bench. Bucky considered calling Steve in his phone and just start walking back, but then the stranger came over to him, and Bucky just froze.

He stared at the guy. He looked friendly, but Bucky couldn’t get himself to completely trust him just like that. Now that he was nearer, Bucky noticed the guy had a bruised eye, obviously recent, but apart from that he looked normal.

Christopher had looked normal too…

Bucky made the thought go away, just like he had learnt to do.

The guy was now barely meters away from Bucky that he could see his features clearly. He had short, sandy blond hair. In his ears were purple devices very well hidden despite their color.

Hearing aids, Bucky realized.

Apart from that, he had a very strong build. Even with the dark eye, Bucky had to admit the guy looked hot, and well, that didn’t exactly help the fact it was obvious he was going to talk to him, and Bucky would need to answer.

“I’m Clint,” the man said. His right hand was a mess with the ice cream, so he extended his left one instead.

Bucky stared at the hand before looking back at the guy—Clint—and back to his hand. Had he really not noticed Bucky couldn’t exactly shake a left hand?

Clint grimaced before taking his hand away.

“That was stupid, Barton,” he seemed to mutter to himself. He looked back at Bucky again. “Can I pet your dog?”

**Clint**

Clint decided today looked like a good enough day to go to the park. It was a shame the shooting gallery had been closed. He had been wanting to practice a new trick on his bow since last week.

The universe had compensated for the lack of archery though. Forgetting the ice cream he had on his hand, he stared at the guy sitting on a hidden bench. Clint noticed he was way too hot for this world’s goodness. 

After him, of course.

Then he noticed the brown Labrador that went to sit next to the man. They had the exact same eye color, and okay, Clint’s mind must really be very fucked up to notice that first. Well, he loved that kind of breed, and he loved this man and his clear grey eyes. Okay not love, that’s too precipitate, but he was so damn handsome.

Clint has the perfect excuse to go and talk to him now. As he started walking he saw the guy’s features. He had a bit of stubble on his chin, and his dark, long hair contrasted against his pale skin. He also had a very muscled up body, which made Clint conscious about his own. He cursed as he remembered the black eye he had from hitting himself with his alarm clock that morning. 

“I’m Clint,” he said. He was about to extend his right hand to shake, but it was full of melted ice cream. He extended his left one instead.

And of course his stupid brain didn’t observe the whole situation before acting because it was then that Clint noticed the guy had no left arm to shake.

How the fuck hadn’t he noticed?

“That was stupid, Barton,” he muttered to himself. He looked back at the man again. “Can I pet your dog?”

Usually, when Clint asked someone if he could pet their dog, unless it was one of those fancy competition dogs, people said yes.

Handsome guy over here—yes, Clint had decided to call him that—didn’t say anything at all. He just stayed there, blinking hard at Clint. At this point, he really didn’t know if he had offended handsome guy or what, and it was starting to get awkward. Clint didn’t pet the dog either. He didn’t like to do it without their owner’s permission.

“I’ll be leaving?” Clint said. It came out more like a question. After seeing handsome guy still didn’t do anything else apart than just stare at him with big eyes, Clint just nodded to himself and left.

“He probably thinks I’m a creep who stares at people,” he muttered to himself. Clint walked away thinking what the hell had happened with handsome guy back there. Could it be he didn’t understand English? He did look lost, now that Clint thought about it.

Clint threw his ruined ice cream cone in the trash can and hoped he could come with a plan to try the next day with handsome guy. That was, if handsome guy even decided to come. Clint sighed. He wished handsome guy decided to appear again.

  

**Bucky**

Bucky stared after Clint as he left.

“He probably thinks I’m a creep,” he heard him whisper. Bucky felt like laughing, but his nervousness didn’t let him. He shook his head instead and decided it had been enough for today. He made sure Clint was nowhere around and got Han back on his leash.

Bucky groaned once inside the house. “Someone talked to me.”

It was good to hear his own voice. One of his main concerns was that one day he would just go back to not being able to talk to Steve. He let Han out of his leash, and he went and sat in Steve’s lap even though he was too big for that. 

“And I guess you didn’t answer,” Steve said with a sigh.

“You know me so well,” Bucky said ruefully. He sat next to Steve and idly scratched at Han’s ear.

“What did they want?”

Bucky shook his head and mentally cursed. It could’ve been so darn easy to just say ‘yes’, but of course his stupid trust problem had to mute him all over again.

Not to mention Clint was good looking?

Even with the dark eye he looked very attractive. Bucky groaned again. The guy probably wouldn’t talk to him again.

Steve flicked his fingers in front of his face. “Hey, Buck. Don’t zone out.”

“He wanted to pet Han,” Bucky muttered. Steve then started laughing, the motherfucker. 

“Shut up,” Bucky said. “This is why I never tell you things.”

Steve just continued to laugh. “This is like the nurse girl all over again,” he said barely breathing now. Bucky glared at Steve. He didn’t need to be reminded of the incident with the nurse girl.

All he had to say was a simple ‘thanks.’ Instead, Bucky almost fainted, which resulted on this small girl taking him over to Steve. Han barked at Steve, and that made the punk shut up at last.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “How about a pizza and movie night? Food and drinks on me.”

“Weren’t you supposed to go over to Tony’s?” Bucky asked. Steve had been dating millionaire Tony Stark for over three months now.

At first, Bucky hadn’t liked Tony too much, but with time he proved himself of being a good friend. Not that Bucky had talked too much to him. He mostly answered in monosyllables, but it didn’t seem to bother Tony. He could babble enough for both of them.

“He got an emergency and had to meet with Pepper,” Steve answered. Tony was CEO of Stark Enterprises, a big company that helped improve medical devices, and provided clients and hospitals with ultimate technology implants, prosthetics and whatnot.

Tony worked a lot in his workshop, designing the projects himself. He had even gone out of his way and had made a special metal arm that Bucky didn’t want to use and kept stored away.

“I already told you,” Bucky said. “He’ll cheat with Pepper.” Steve rolled his eyes and sniggered. They both knew the joke was half felt. Bucky turned the tv on and started searching for a movie.

“Your turn to order pizza.”

“It’s always my turn to order pizza,” Steve said, “and go pick it up and pay for it.”

Bucky shrugged. He could go, but of course that would mean freezing on the spot, closing the door on the delivery guy and making Steve apologize for him.

Bucky continued passing channels with Clint on his head. Man, he hoped the guy wasn’t an all timer at the park.

  

**Clint**

Clint usually wasn’t a guy for routines. The only constant thing in his life was archery, but this time he even stopped going to the shooting gallery so he could try again with handsome guy. Yeah, he could make a routine for handsome guy, Clint just had to hope he went at the same hour as yesterday.

Clint opened the door to the coffee shop with his back while balancing the two cups of coffee on his hands. He had bought one for handsome guy. Coffee was a good way to start conversation. Any person who gave Clint free coffee was an instant yes for him.

He got to the park relatively early that day, so he took a seat on a bench that was hidden from the one handsome guy sat yesterday. It was good it had been mid afternoon and not some crazy early hour. If it had been a very early hour Clint probably would’ve fallen asleep and never seen handsome guy again.

Handsome guy in sight now. He brought his dog along too, that was good. Clint took the time and waited some minutes so that he wouldn’t seem like a creeper to the guy. He took a deep breath and went towards handsome guy. He walked over without falling, so maybe today he’ll have better luck at talking.

“Hey ha—”

Clint managed to stop his mouth before calling handsome guy ‘handsome guy’, and that was when it all went to hell. He had all he was going to say already in his mind and now it just. Gone.

Clint made himself talk.

“I’m Clint, but you already know that. Anyways, I brought you a coffee and wanted you to know I’m not a creeper, and well if what I’m thinking is true then you probably don’t even understand me right now.”

Handsome guy’s response had been the same as before. He just stayed with his hand over his dog’s back while staring at Clint with big eyes. Clint grimaced at handsome guy and shook his head.

“ _Puedo acariciar a tu pedo?_ ” he asked once and for all. Clint felt something was wrong in the sentence, but it was the best he could do considering he failed Spanish class about four times.

Clint gave up, and before he could make a bigger mess, he said goodbye and left handsome guy alone. It was halfway through leaving that Clint noticed he still had handsome guy’s coffee on his hand. He groaned.

Aw, Clint, no.

Hating himself, Clint drank the two coffees on the way to Nat’s home. He could do with talking to his best friend right now.

 

**Bucky**

“ _Puedo acariciar a tu pedo?_ ” Clint had asked. Bucky hadn’t been an excellent student through school, but he knew just enough Spanish to understand Clint had asked if he could pet his fart instead of his dog.

Bucky had meant to laugh or point out his mistake, but of course he couldn’t. He also noticed Clint had bought him a coffee, which he then forgot to give.

Bucky stood up and Han followed suit. On the walk back home Bucky could only think of Clint. He really seemed like a nice person, and the fact he thought Bucky maybe didn’t know English and still tried to talk to him made Bucky smile a little.

He really wanted to talk to Clint, but each time he talked himself into answering Christopher appeared back again clouding his thoughts.

Dammit, why had Bucky trusted the guy so easily. He was the reason he lost his arm in the first place. Bucky shook his head to forget all that. He was about to open the door to the house when something came to his mind.

Clint had almost called him something along the ways of ‘han’…

 _Oh, for fuck’s sake_ , Bucky thought. The door opened in front of him, and Steve appeared.

“Bucky?” he tried.

“I think Clint was going to call me handsome,” Bucky blurted out. Steve started laughing just like yesterday. Bucky rolled his eyes and walked past him.

He sat down on the couch with Han at his feet. This thing with trusting Clint was going to be way harder than Bucky had thought. Not to mention he was possibly developing a crush on him?

Bucky groaned and called for Steve to stop laughing so they could talk.

“I want to trust Clint,” Bucky said. Steve nodded at him understandingly.

“You know you need to talk to him to do that, right?” Steve asked.

Bucky glared at him. “I lost my arm, not my brain,” he said. Steve gave him his ‘not funny’ face, and Bucky rolled his eyes.

“You sure you want to trust this man?” asked Steve. Bucky stared at his dog as he passed the question through his head.

Should he really trust Clint? His therapist would’ve told him to do so. Or at least he thiught that was what she would’ve said. Bucky didn’t exactly talked or payed attention at the sessions.

“I’m supposed to try,” Bucky said with a shrug.

“And you’re gonna nailed it.” Steve smiled proudly. Bucky beamed back. He just hoped Clint didn’t result in a Christopher all over again.

 

*****

 

The next day before leaving the house Bucky went through what he was supposed to say to Clint.

“Hi, I’m Bucky,” he said. Steve nodded for him to continue. “You can pet Han.”

“Exactly,” Steve said, “and if he gives you something you say…”

“Thank you.”

“And if he asks why you named the dog Han?” Steve continued.

Bucky frowned. “He won’t ask that.”

“People always ask that,” said Steve, “and you never answer.” Bucky rolled his eyes at him.

“I named him Han after Han Solo,” he said. “Happy?”

“I’ll be if you talk to Clint.”

Bucky took a deep breath and left with Han walking next to him as always. Once in his usual spot he willed himself to calm down and absently searched for Clint. Han seemed to notice his nervousness and put his head on Bucky’s lap. 

Clint did appear, and he had two coffees again. Bucky noticed the bruise in his eye was looking better and helped highlight the clear blue of his irises.

Once Clint was standing in front of him Bucky swallowed. He just had to imagine this was Steve he was talking to. Clint started with his usual babble as always.

“Hey, man. Clint here again. I’ll be giving you this right now because yesterday I kinda forgot?” He leaned in to place the coffee next to Bucky and rubbed at his neck awkwardly. Bucky stared at Han’s head and prepared himself to talk. 

Except Clint then sat next to him. Bucky’s chest constricted and his hand tightened around Han’s collar instinctively. He was way too close on his personal space, and Bucky started to panic. Clint seemed to take a deep breath.

“Mogu li ya pogladit' vashu sobaku?” Clint asked in a weird accent. Had that been fucking Russian? The fact Clint had talked in Russian—at least Bucky thought it was Russian—helped Bucky calm down a little bit. “I knew it was stupid to try Russian. I’ll be leaving now.”

Clint stood up and stared at Bucky. Probably waiting for him to talk or something. Bucky willed himself into slightly raising his hand and waving goodbye. Clint’s toothy smile was huge and charming, and that seemed to make the effort worth it.

  

**Clint**

Nat owed him big time. He was sure he probably sounded like he wanted to invoke a demon when he asked in Russian. Anyways, Clint couldn’t help but notice that the moment he sat next to handsome guy he had gone horribly tense. As if nervous of the sudden approach.

And then he had waved.

Handsome guy waved Clint goodbye, and Clint couldn’t hold in the big smile that had gained over his face. It had to mean something, right? At least it made Clint want to continue until he got this right.

He took a drink from his coffee as he walked over to Nat’s apartment. Hey, this time he did give handsome guy his coffee. Maybe his luck was about to change.

No, scratch that. He tripped and dropped the coffee all over his favorite shirt. At least handsome guy didn’t see that.

 

*****

 

“Natasha!” Clint called closing the door loudly behind him.

“Shut up!” she answered back. She appeared from her bedroom looking rather mad. Why, Clint didn’t knew. Bruce came out seconds later, and now Clint knew. They were probably making out.

“Well sorry to ruin your kissing,” Clint said. He lied down on the sofa like it were a therapy session, and Bruce and Nat were his therapists. “But I’m sure handsome guy thinks I know how to invoke demons in Russian.”

Bruce laughed fetching three beers and handing them out. “I thought we had agreed that you wouldn’t call him handsome guy anymore.”

“Yeah, that won’t help you get over this dumb crush,” Nat said, “and I didn’t thought you were going to actually ask in Russian.”

“I already told you it’s not some dumb crush,” said Clint rolling his eyes. Yeah, it was true that he tended to like someone rather easily, but handsome guy wasn’t the case… right?

He groaned. Nat was making him doubt again.

“If you insist,” Nat said with a shrug. She took a drink from her beer as she settled next to Bruce on the extra couch.

“So what happened this time?” Bruce asked. “Apart from him not answering, I mean.”

Clint made a face before explaining everything. The sitting down next to handsome guy, him tensing, the fact that he did leave the coffee this time and then spilled his own, and the little wave. It had been so small and petty it made Clint’s heart ache.

“So that’s the big stain on your shirt,” Nat said. Clint looked down at his shirt and pouted. He was surely throwing it away.

“Wait you said handsome guy tensed up when you sat down?” Bruce asked. Clint nodded, but he couldn’t see why that stood out. “And he’s missing his left arm.”

Nat seemed to understand were Bruce was heading. “You think he’s a war veteran?”

Woah, woah.

Handsome guy couldn’t be a war veteran, could he? Now that Clint thought about it, maybe there was a chance, but there should be something more for handsome guy to still not talk to him.

Clint shook his head and took a big swig of his beer. Whatever it was happened with handsome guy wouldn’t stop him, and tomorrow he’ll try all over again.

 

  **Bucky**

"He sat down next to me,” Bucky said. He lied down sprawled over the couch with his hand hanging down to scratch Han. Steve patted his legs, and Bucky moved them so he could sit.

“Shit,” Steve said shortly. Yeah, that defined all the incident. Shit. They stayed in silence, mostly because Bucky didn’t want to talk, and Steve knew not to press him about it.

“I did wave goodbye.”

Steve stared at him, and a small smile creeped on his face. “That’s good, Buck. I’m pretty sure you’ll be soon talking to him.”

“I hope so,” Bucky said. He didn’t say anything else. He processed everything that had happened those last few days.

Clint didn’t seem like he was going to stop anytime soon, and it just helped add to Bucky’s crush that _someone was trying_ _to know him._ It made him swoon.

Normally, when people saw he didn’t answer, they would just leave him alone.

The only problem Bucky had was himself. Even though the rational part of him was telling him again and again that he couldn’t put his full trust on Clint, there was something else, probably his heart, saying that maybe Clint could be the one.

Bucky’s mind became a mix of thoughts. To be with Clint meant trusting him. Letting him in his personal space and try not to freak out, except the bare idea of it perturbed Bucky from head to toe.

Made him think about Christopher, the army and the accident all over again.

“Bucky!” Steve exclaimed. Apparently Bucky had started slightly trembling and had zoned out again. Han stood up and came up to shove his snout into Bucky’s hand as he’d been taught to do.

“Sorry,” Bucky muttered. He passed a tired hand over his face. “You want to watch another movie?”

Thankfully, Steve now understood when Bucky didn’t want to talk about it and nodded.

 

*****

 

That night, Bucky couldn’t sleep. He twisted on the bed sheets trying to get comfortable, and the fact his left side was starting to cramp didn’t help.

The night was way too hot, but Bucky couldn’t stop shivering. His thoughts were still crazy about everything. He didn’t like it, but his brain associated Clint with Christopher, and without wanting to, Bucky found himself thinking about all that all over again.

Bucky was just a frightened guy on his first mission. Even though he had told himself countless times he could do it, that time he had panicked, and if it hadn’t been for Christopher he probably would’ve died. Christopher then became a protector for Bucky, not only on the field but at camp.

Then Bucky managed to become a real soldier and didn’t need Christopher’s protection at all, but the guy stayed at his side as a friend.

And then that night, the night he lost his arm…

No.

Bucky was not going to think that. He sat up, and Han immediately jumped up into the space next to him. Bucky gently massaged his left side until the pain subdued.

It was obvious he was not going to sleep now. He considered going into Steve’s room and talk to him to sleep, but Bucky had done that for way too long months before, and he didn’t want to go back into his old ways.

Bucky quietly left his room and went into the living room. He prepared himself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the couch. Balancing the bowl on his legs he started eating while absently watching some random tv show.

The door to Steve’s room opened moments later. Steve stared at Bucky knowingly. He shrugged his arm at him. Steve then prepared his own bowl of cereal and sat next to Bucky, providing the quiet help he needed that night.

 

*****

 

“You don’t have to go if you feel like it,” Steve said. Bucky considered it. Last night he barely managed to sleep a few hours at most, and today he was feeling physically and emotionally tired, but if he stopped going to the park Clint could think he was tired of him and stop going, and Bucky didn’t want that.

As difficult as it was, he still wanted to try.

“It’s fine,” he answered. “Maybe today I might talk to him.” Bucky smiled at Steve. He decided he wasn’t going to stop until he got to talk to Clint. Bucky even went as far as preparing a coffee for him as a payback.

He opened the door to leave and almost stumbled into Tony.

“Hey Bucky,” he said. “Going to see Clint?”

Bucky turned around and glared at Steve. “You told him?”

Steve smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Again, this is why I never tell you things,” Bucky answered. Tony chuckled behind him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got faith in you,” he said. He took his glasses off and gave Bucky one of the smiles that had won Steve over. “Just trust your inner charming Tony.”

Bucky frowned. “Thanks, I guess?” he said. He left Tony behind before the man made him talk more. Han didn’t have his leash on today so that Bucky could take the coffee without dropping it.

Once at the park he sat at his usual spot with Han at his side. He waited a long time for Clint to appear, but there was no sign of him. A lot of time had passed when Bucky started to think Clint might not appear today.

At last, he did. Clint came half jogging over to Bucky. “Sorry, I’m late,” he said out of breath. “I left the sink running and made a whole mess out of it. I know you didn’t like me sitting next to you yesterday, but I’ll need to take a seat just here. At the other side of your dog and away so it doesn’t bother you.”

Clint didn’t wait for Bucky to answer and sat down just as he had said. Far from Bucky’s personal space. That was… a very nice gesture.

Ugh.

It just made Bucky fall more in love with Clint. He awkwardly stretched his hand over Han’s back. Clint blinked at the cup and stared at Bucky with a growing smile.

“Oh my God, I love you,” Clint said taking it from him. Clint seemed to register what he said, and his face went from pleased to panicked in a second. He then proceeded to drink the coffee.

Bucky stared at Clint’s side. He should’ve said it was smoking hot, but Clint had taken him by surprise with what he said.

“It’s fucking hot. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Clint muttered taking a deep breath. Bucky snorted at him, but Clint didn’t seem to notice. “Okay, before I do anything else more stupid I’ll ask. _Possum pet canis tuus?_ ”

Bucky blinked trying to make sure he heard correctly. It was totally ridiculous, but Clint had asked in Latin. In damn Latin. That, or Clint was the Messiah and it was ancient Aramaic. Clint then started laughing slightly.

“Sorry, that was dumb. No one knows Latin anymore,” he said still giggling. Clint stood up to leave already. Bucky mentally cursed. Their meetings at the park were way too short. “I’ve got to finish drying my stuff, so I gotta go.”

Bucky let a little weird smile gain over his lips and waved. Just like yesterday, the happiness that emanated from Clint was heartwarming.

 

*****

 

Bucky’s park trips weren’t that bad anymore. Everyday he had something to look forward to to go. With the passing of days Bucky was surprised Clint hadn’t run out of languages to try.

He was even more surprised by the fact he found himself trusting Clint more and more, and well. Quietly falling more in love with him.

Clint also talked so much with himself that he tended to tell little details of his life, and without meaning to Bucky now knew a lot about him. Clint’s best friend, Nat, had taught him the Russian. He also practiced archery—which, hot damn—but haven’t been going because of wanting to see Bucky.

Clint also said he had a brother he hadn’t talk to in years, and that he was eighty percent deaf because of a childhood incident; his favorite food was pizza and coffee, even thought Nat didn’t let him live out of it.

And yet, Bucky couldn’t even tell Clint his name.

Today Bucky had gone with Steve. He had insisted on going at a later hour so that Steve couldn’t see Clint because Steve being the punk he was would probably embarrass him.

“Who is he?” Steve asked as they walked. Han was walking between them as they talked quietly.

“Who is who?” asked Bucky. He was silently searching for Clint, but couldn’t spot him. Bucky didn’t know if he should’ve felt relief or disappointment.

“Oh, you know. The ice cream vendor you’ve been talking about,” Steve said sarcastically. “Clint, Bucky. I mean Clint.”

“I don’t know, Stevie. This is not our usual—” Bucky stopped mid-sentence, because walking towards them was Clint. “Let’s leave.”

Steve frowned at Bucky and his sudden change. “Why?” Steve followed his line of sight and snorted. “He’s Clint.”

Bucky was going to shut up Steve, but Clint had already caught up to them, and he got nervous all over again. Except it wasn’t as much from being distrustful that much, but from his ever-growing crush on him. Bucky mentally cursed.

Clint probably didn’t even see him that way.

“Hey,” Clint said with his charming smile. He extended his arm to shake Steve’s. “I’m Clint.”

“Steve Rogers. Nice to meet you,” Steve answered. Bucky could only help but stare at nothing while hoping Steve decided to shut his trap.

“You’re friends with him?” Clint asked looking over at Bucky.

“Who, Bucky? Yeah we’re roommates. Right pal?” Steve answered. Bucky glared at Steve. “I apologize. He’s usually not this quiet at home. A total pain in the ass. Would not recommend.”

Bucky observed Clint while Steve continued to joke around. He seemed to be trying out Bucky’s name quietly on his lips. It made him smile a little.

Steve continued to rant about Bucky with Clint. Bucky groaned and shoved his elbow at him. Steve then proceeded to shove Bucky so hard he almost fell over if it hadn’t been because of Clint.

Bucky stared at Clint with wide eyes. They were barely inches apart, and Bucky felt his panic take over him, not letting him move.

“You have your dog’s eyes,” Clint muttered. “They’re very pretty.”

Despite the nervousness in Bucky, what Clint had said got him moving, and he stood up. He then turned around, hoping Clint hadn’t noticed him go red.

Did Clint seriously think his eyes were pretty?

Bucky shook his head slightly. He called Han with his hand and then pulled Steve by his shirt.

“See you later Clint,” Steve called. Clint didn’t answer anything, and Bucky made sure they were out of earshot when he talked again.

“I hate you,” he muttered. Steve snorted and stared at Bucky knowingly.

“The way I see it Clint already knows your name, so shut up. And, you’re blushing.”

Bucky groaned and turned around to observe Clint. He was blushing too while smiling like an idiot and just staring at the empty air.

  

**Clint**

Some days passed and Clint found himself still trying. Nat and Bruce continued to insist that maybe he should stop trying to get handsome guy to talk to him and just pet the dog. The only problem was that maybe Clint now not only wanted to pet the dog but probably wanted to ask handsome guy on a date?

Except he first needed handsome guy to answer him and then… oh fuck. What if handsome guy answered in another language Clint didn’t know. Then he wouldn’t be able to date him. Clint groaned. He didn’t think this through as always.

Right now, Clint was about to leave the park. It was well past the time handsome guy usually appeared with his dog, but there was no sign of him.

Clint was thinking maybe he had bored handsome guy or something, and he had decided to stop coming altogether.

And then Clint spotted him walking with a blond guy and the dog. Clint groaned. He hoped like hell blond guy wasn’t handsome guy’s boyfriend. That would be very disappointing.

“Hey. I’m Clint.” Clint shook hands with handsome guy’s friend.

“Steve Rogers, nice to meet you.”

Clint noticed that while they talked, handsome guy was completely ignoring them. Clint decided to see what was the deal with blond and handsome guy.

“You’re friends with him?” Clint looked over at handsome guy, who was still pointedly staring everywhere else.

“Who, Bucky? Yeah we’re roommates. Right pal?” Steve answered. “I apologize. He’s usually not this quiet at home. A total pain in the ass. Would not recommend.”

Bucky. Bucky. Bucky.

 _Bucky_.

He liked handsome guy’s—Bucky’s—name. It sounded right on his lips. Steve continued talking about Bucky until on Clint’s mind something clicked.

By the way Bucky glared at Steve it could only mean something.

_Bucky knew English._

Oh shitting fucking fuck. That meant Bucky understood every idiotic thing Clint had said the past few days. Clint felt his neck start to heat up in embarrassment. Thankfully, neither Steve nor Bucky were really paying attention to him.

Bucky had shoved his elbow into Steve’s side, and now Steve had pushed Bucky. If it hadn’t been for Clint’s reflexes Bucky would’ve probably fallen.

Now they were barely inches apart from each other, and Clint noticed Bucky got just as nervous as him. Neither of them moved away, and being this close to Bucky made Clint want to pass his hand over his hair and put it behind his ear.

And his eyes. His eyes looked gorgeous up close.

“You have your dog’s eyes,” Clint muttered. “They’re very pretty.”

Clint groaned internally.

_You have your dog’s eyes._

That seriously couldn’t have been what had gotten out of his mouth. Why, oh fuck, why was he a mess when he was in love?

No, erase that. He was always a mess.

Bucky now moved away from Clint and turned around. He started walking, pulling Steve with him. Steve ushered him a goodbye, but Clint could only stare at the air with a smile and an ever-growing redness in his face.

Now he knew Bucky’s name, but he most probably think Clint was a new level of stupid. Way to go, Barton.

  

**Bucky**

“I haven’t see that face in you in a long while,” Steve said with a smirk. Bucky was now lying all over the couch, leaving Steve to stay at the floor with Han.

“What face?” Bucky asked with an eye-roll. He was probably gonna regret the answer.

“The one that says you’re in love,” cooed Steve. Yeah, there it was. Bucky didn’t respond because maybe it was true. Just a little bit.

“I think I like Clint, okay?” he admitted. “But I don’t think he likes me back.”

Steve laughed. “You kidding, right? He literally flirted with you. It was weird, yeah, but it was flirting,” he said. “And I’m sure he’s probably been doing it, and you haven’t noticed.”

Now that Bucky thought about it Clint did appeared to be more nervous with each passing day, but flirting not much.

“He didn’t flirt,” Bucky said. Steve stared at him.

“You have your dog’s eyes. They’re pretty,” Steve said with mimicry. Bucky now threw a pillow in Steve’s face. “You lost your arm not your brain, Bucky. It was flirting.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and turned away from Steve. He didn’t want the punk to see the growing smile at the thought of Clint flirting with him. Bucky still had a chance.

How the hell had he fallen in love with someone he hadn’t talked to?

 

**Clint**

Today was the day Clint was going to ask Bucky for a date. He had everything prepared in his head, but the moment he had seen Bucky appear his nervousness kicked in again. Clint groaned. He had made a bigger idiot out of himself and didn’t even got the question out.

Clint entered his favorite coffee shop. Surely a big Latte should’ve made him feel better. He finished paying when he noticed Steve sitting at a booth with a brunet man in expensive clothes. Clint considered going over to Steve, but he didn’t want to bother them. Whatever, it was quick.

“Hey Steve,” Clint said awkwardly. Steve turned to him just as the same time as the other man, and it was after the guy took off his glasses that he noticed it was Tony Stark.

Steve was dating the Tony Stark. 

“Hey Clint. Didn’t know you came to this coffee shop,” Steve answered.

Clint shrugged. “Best one in the street.” He extended his hand at Tony. “Clint Barton, just wanted to say your hearing aids work wonders.”

Tony smiled charmingly at him. “Good to see they work. You seemed to like a girl’s color though.”

“Purple ain’t for girls,” Clint said pointedly. Purple was the best color no matter what.

“I would’ve gone for red I mean come on—”

Before they could started arguing Steve shushed them.

“Can I ask you something real quick?” Clint asked.

“You already asked,” Tony said. Steve glared at him to shut up and then nodded at Clint to continue. He rubbed his neck awkwardly, after all he was asking Bucky’s best friend for advice on him.

“How can I get Bucky to talk to me? I literally tried different languages because I thought maybe he didn’t know any English, but he was talking to you and well at this point maybe it’s more than just petting his dog?" 

Steve laughed at Clint’s nervousness. “You really want to ask him out, don’t you?” Steve said. Clint nodded at him quietly. Steve sighed and looked at Tony, who just shrugged. “Okay look. It’s not exactly my place to tell, but Bucky’s got this problem after the army where he doesn’t trust people that easily anymore, and it causes him to go mute as a kind of defense mechanism. Stops a normal person from talking to him.”

Bruce had been right about it being something to do with the army. It probably had to do with his arm also. Clint didn’t want to pry though, so he didn’t ask anything else.

“I imagine you know ASL?” Tony asked. Clint nodded at him. It had been a must when he lost his hearing. “Try that then. Bucky found it easier to communicate like that, right?”

Steve nodded in assent. “It might work.”

Clint frowned at them. “Not to be rude, but doesn’t he need both arms?” he asked with a grimace.

Steve and Tony both laughed at him.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get him to use Tony’s arm prosthetic,” Steve assured. Oh. Of course. Clint beamed at them.

“Thanks,” he said. Clint quickly left the coffee shop feeling hopeful.

Maybe there still was a chance for him.

 

**Bucky**

“You’ll become deaf!” Steve exclaimed. Every time Bucky found himself alone at the house he used the opportunity to listen music with volume at its maximum.

“What?” Bucky feigned not being able to hear Steve. Steve glared at him and went to grab the stereo’s remote control. It became a small fight for the control that ended with Han tackling Steve to the floor.

“Bucky, I’m serious!” Steve said over the music. “I need to talk to you.”

Bucky walked around the room without putting any attention to Steve. “Can’t hear you!”

Bucky turned around just as Steve threw himself over him and snatched the controller back. He immediately turned the volume down.

Bucky was about to take it back, but stopped. Steve must really need to talk about something serious because he was giving Bucky his ‘this is serious’ face.

Bucky sighed and sat down at the couch. “What is it?”

Steve sat down next to him and took a deep breath. “Have you reconsidered using the arm again?” he asked.

Bucky frowned. He hadn’t expected Steve to bring that up. It was something he preferred not to talk about.

“You know I haven’t,” Bucky answered.

“Maybe you should,” Steve said with a shrug. Bucky rolled his eyes at him. He knew Bucky hated the arm.

“Why are you bringing this up now?”

“Because you’re making progress, Buck, and maybe it’s time you use it,” said Steve. Bucky pointedly stood up and went to close himself at his room just as Steve banged against the door. “Come on, Bucky, don’t shut up on me, please.” 

“You know I hate the arm, Stevie,” Bucky muttered. He went and threw himself face first into his bed. There was another insistent knocking.

“Come on, Buck. Han wants to enter too.”

Bucky rolled his eyes just as Han whined outside his door. He half opened it for Han and closed it again.

“You got to be kidding me,” Steve muttered tiredly. After some minutes he went away. Bucky sighed. Now he was going to be thinking about the stupid prosthetic.

The bare thought of using the arm scared Bucky. It was a reminder of everything that haunted him. Of how he couldn’t be strong or brave enough to at least try.

Han seemed to notice his distress and came up for Bucky to pet. Bucky passed his hand over the soft fur as he tried to just ignore everything.

Except this time it wasn’t as easy. He had the constant memory of Christopher on his mind mixed with feelings for Clint and the fear of the arm that it was just too much to hold in. 

Bucky closed his eyes and buried his head on the pillow. He then tried to sleep as he felt hot tears burn his cheeks slightly.

 

*****

 

That night, Bucky had nightmares. He woke up gasping and with a horrible blazing feeling on his left side. He closed his eyes trying to will the pain away, but all he saw were the flashing memories of that day.

The day he lost his arm.

Bucky grasped his left side with his hand as the memories passed rushing in. Christopher. The grenade. Christopher pulling it active as Bucky rushed in to throw it away, then a blinding, searing pain.

“Bucky breath!” someone exclaimed. Bucky opened his eyes and recognized the familiar face before him.

Steve.

He was taking his face in his hands in order to make Bucky focus. “Look at me Bucky. It’s fine. You’re fine.”

Bucky concentrated on Steve’s features, and slowly he started to calm down, his breathing coming easier.

“Bucky?” Steve tried. “You feeling better?”

Bucky took a deep breath and nodded.

“Don’t mute out on me, Buck.” Steve said worriedly.

“Sorry,” he croaked quietly. “Sorry I worried you.” Bucky lied back down and stared at the ceiling. He hadn’t had a nightmare in months, dammit.

“Want to watch some tv?” Steve offered quietly. Bucky nodded. He needed to clear his mind, and right now sleeping definitely wasn’t an option.

Bucky massaged his left side as Steve idly passed the channels. The night was chilly, and it helped Bucky wake up completely from the nightmare.

“That bad?” Steve asked noticing Bucky’s movements. Bucky nodded slowly.

“How did you know I was…” Bucky didn’t need to finish the sentence for Steve to understand.

“Han was barking loudly,” Steve answered shortly. Bucky continued to massage his side until the pain died completely and sighed.

He didn’t know what to do anymore. Didn’t know what to feel.

“I’m tired of all this shit,” Bucky said softly. “I just want to be able to live again.”

Steve clapped his shoulder softly to get his attention. “And you will, Bucky. You’re almost there, even though you don’t notice it.”

Bucky gulped anxiously. “How are you so sure?”

“The proof? Well, months before you wouldn’t have talked to me about this. You now interact more with Tony too. And there’s Clint and your park trips. You’re almost there, Buck,” Steve said. He smiled softly at him. “Just don’t stop now, okay?” 

Bucky made himself believe it. Not only for himself, but for Steve. He owed him so much just for being there. And Clint. He couldn’t stop trying with Clint.

“Thanks,” he said. Bucky smiled back at Steve.

  

**Clint**

Clint felt way too nervous today. He was sure he was going to mess it up. Either he would totally forget how to sign, or he would sign it incorrectly.

“You can do this Clint,” he told himself. “Just ask Bucky on a date. The worst he could say is no.”

Oh fuck.

What if Bucky said no. Then Clint would definitely have no chance. He groaned and thought about leaving, but Clint then noticed Bucky was already at his bench with his dog and was looking at him. He took a deep breath and walked over to them.

Now that he was closer, Clint noticed Bucky didn’t have the arm as Steve had said. He considered doing the usual talking then and wait for Bucky to come one day with his prosthetic.

But it was now or never. Clint knew himself enough to know that if he didn’t ask today, he would probably never ask.

“Hi,” Clint said. He noticed Bucky looked different somehow. Less anxious about the situation. Maybe today will be the day. “I wanted to ask you something, so here it goes.”

 _Do you want to go on a date with me?_ Clint signed.

It was obvious Bucky had understood because he looked taken aback by the question. Clint waited expectantly to see if Bucky answered, but long seconds passed, and the silence was becoming unbearable.

Then out of nowhere Bucky stood up and just… left. No wave, no little smile.

No answer.

Clint tried to ignore the feeling killing him inside. He had at least been expecting an answer.

 

**Bucky**

Bucky felt bad for not answering. He wanted so badly to say yes. But he didn’t want to sign it.

No.

Clint deserved better than just a sign as an answer from his part.

Bucky groaned. He shouldn’t have left like that either, but he needed to kill Steve. He now understood why he had wanted him to wear the arm. He had told Clint about it.

“Steven Grant Rogers!” Bucky yelled closing the door. “Where are you, you little jerk?”

Steve appeared from his bedroom looking panicked at the sudden burst. “What?” he asked.

“You told him, didn’t you?” Bucky said glaring at him.

“Told who what?”

Bucky rolled his eyes at him. “Clint! You told him about the army.” Bucky now threw a cushion at Steve which he ducked out of the way.

“I didn’t tell him anything you wouldn’t have wanted him to know,” Steve said.

“You idiot.” Bucky groaned as he threw another cushion, hitting Steve on the chest.

“Bucky stop!” Steve exclaimed. “I just told him to talk to you in ASL.”

“That’s why you were bothering with the damn arm!”

The cushion he threw now hit Steve hard on the face, making him groan.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Steve said loudly. “I just have seen you struggling so much with wanting to be with Clint and your own problem. I don’t want you to regret not doing anything later on, Buck.”

Bucky just stared at Steve and let the cushion in his hand fall to the floor. He then lied down, all the fight in him gone. Bucky hugged his legs to his chest and sighed. Steve came and sat next to him quietly with Han at his side.

“He asked me on a date,” Bucky said quietly. “And I didn’t answer because I want to answer him with my voice.”

“Tomorrow you’ll put on your prosthetic arm, you’ll go to the park, and you’ll tell Clint your answer,” said Steve sternly.

“What if it’s too late?” Bucky asked. What if he screwed so bad and it was now way too late?

“If Clint is the one for you it will never be too late Buck,” Steve answered with a quirk of his lips.

“Okay,” said Bucky nodding. The idea of the arm still made Bucky wary, but maybe Clint was worth the effort. “Sorry I hit you with the cushions.”

Steve laughed now. “You know it’s fine.”

“And for yelling at you.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for,” Steve answered. Bucky chuckled. He then hugged Steve slightly.

 

*****

 

Bucky suppressed a flinch as Tony connected the arm. He felt a strong pinch as the prosthetic connected with his remaining nerves. The metal felt cold and strange at the place where it met his shoulder, but apart from that it was perfect.

It felt right.  

“Try to use it,” Tony said. Bucky slowly tried it out. He thought it would be difficult, but the prosthetic moved as easily as if it were the real thing.

“It’s perfect,” Bucky said. “Thanks.” He observed Tony’s work. Apart from being made completely of metal plates, the arm looked and worked just like a normal arm. It wasn’t even heavy at all.

“Of course it’s perfect,” Tony said with a snort. “It’s Stark tech made by me.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and quickly put his shirt back on. Tony and Steve were both grinning proudly at him. Bucky took a deep breath as he got ready to leave for the park.

“Good luck, Bucky,” Steve said with a big smile. “I’m sure Clint will be there.”

Bucky beamed back at them. This was it.

“And remember to call your inner charming Tony!” Bucky heard Tony say. He chuckled and called Han over. Together they walked to the park. All the way there Bucky was mentally practicing what he would say and do. Once he was sure of it he searched for Clint.

Bucky was starting to get worried when he at last spot the sandy blond guy walking alone. Bucky flexed his metal fingers and took a deep breath. He patted Han’s head for reassurance.

 _This is it,_ he thought. Once he was close enough, Clint noticed him. Bucky swallowed down his panic, ignored the voices telling him it was all wrong and uttered one single word at Clint.

“Yes,” Bucky said softly while signing. Clint smiled at him one of the smiles Bucky had come to love and decided it was true.

Clint definitely was worth the effort.

“You’ll go on a date with me?” Clint asked hesitantly. “Because it would be awkward if you meant I can pet your dog.”

Bucky didn’t know how, but he found himself laughing, all the nervousness and panic from the beginning disappeared all at once.

“I want to go on a date with you,” Bucky affirmed slowly. He smiled awkwardly at Clint, and when he had least expected it, Clint had suddenly leaned in and kissed him square on the lips.

Bucky froze then. Clint quickly seemed to notice what he had done and turned around, giving his back to Bucky.

Bucky prepared himself for the wave of anxiety or fear that was about to come, except… except he had liked that. It left a tingling sensation in his lips he hadn’t felt in years.

Bucky blinked hard. He never would’ve thought he would feel like this again.

_Never thought he would want more._

Feeling his face go a bit hot, he gently grabbed Clint’s hand in his metal one and turned him around.

 _Yeah_ , he thought smiling. _Clint definitely is worth it._

 

**Clint**

The moment he saw Bucky walking over to him with his metal arm, Clint had gotten excited. It had to mean something, right?

“Yes.” Bucky talked and signed at the same time. Clint smiled so hard it hurt. Bucky had talked to him, and best of all he had said _yes_.

“You’ll go on a date with me?” Clint asked to be sure. “Because it would be awkward if you meant I can pet your dog.”

Bucky then laughed. It was so damn good to hear him laugh for the first time.

“I want to go on a date with you,” Bucky said still signing. Bucky then smiled, and that was when Clint knew he definitely was in love.

And Clint seriously must learn how to control himself because kissing someone who just recently had started trusting him isn’t exactly the best thing to do.

Feeling his face go red and knowing he already had screwed everything up, Clint turned around from Bucky.

Why was he so fucking stupid?

For a long moment Clint just stayed like that, thinking Bucky probably left. He just ruined the only chance he had.

And then a metal hand was slowly taking his own, turning him around. Clint now noticed Bucky was blushing.

“I… I liked that,” Bucky said sounding surer than before. Clint started giggling softly at how cute Bucky looked and was surprised as Bucky grabbed his head carefully, leaned back in and kissed him again for long seconds.

Clint stared at Bucky once they separated. “I love your voice,” he said, “and your laugh and your smile.”

 _And you_ , Clint thought happily. Bucky chuckled and stared back.

“You’re a dork,” he answered beaming. “And yes, you can pet Han.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and leaving kudos! You can check my profile for my other story What Happened to the Avengers? if you haven't read it :)


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